Hard times as a hybrid hypercar: The bar is set extremely high for Porsche's 918, so in the lead up to our drive of the gorgeous car Monday, we take a look at its competition

This is a tough time to be a supercar. It used to be enough to be extremely rare and stunningly beautiful, but now that there are so many rare and beautiful supercars in the world, they have to try even harder to make it. The supercar game is one where automakers are constantly trying to one-up each other with either more horsepower or a faster time around the Nurburgring. First world problems, right?

The result of this stiff competition was the birth of hypercars. And when that wasn’t enough any longer, hybrid hypercars became the new benchmark of performance. The Porsche 918 falls into this category.

As David Booth so eloquently noted, the Porsche 918 Spyder (we previewed it during Pebble Beach) could be a tough sell, not because its performance is lacking, but because it’s expected to turn a profit and automakers often lose money on their phantasmagorical passion projects (like Bugatti). Not only that, but the hybrid hypercar market isn’t an easy place to exist because of all the insane cars trying to occupy the same top rung.

Here, we take a look at some of the Porsche 918’s fiercest competition (the Porsche actually turns out to be less expensive at US$845,000 than the LaFerrari and the McLaren P1, but isn’t too far off in the performance department).

LaFerrari

The ‘LaFerrari’ car build by Italian car maker Ferrari is on display during its presentation on April 22, 2013 in Paris. The production of the new sports car is limited to 499 copies.

The LaFerrari stunned the world when it was introduced at the 2013 Geneva auto show. What stunned the world even more was that it was a hybrid — an excessively powerful and obscene-looking hybrid. The $1.5-million LaFerrari (the spiritual successor to the famed 2002 Enzo) is powered by a V12 gas-electric motor that puts out an insane 950 horsepower

Ferrari claims a zero to 100 km/h time of less than three seconds and a top speed of 350 km/h, so we think its hybridization has more to do with speed than saving the environment, which is the case for many of the hybrid hypercars in this post.

McLaren P1

The McLaren P1 sprints from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds.

The $1.15-million McLaren P1 is a mean-looking hybrid hypercar with performance to match. McLaren claims a zero to 100 km/h time of an astounding 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 349 km/h. The P1 is powered by a 3.8L V8 with a Formula One-derived Kinetic Engine Recovery System (KERS), just like the system used in the LaFerrari.

The P1 channels a total of 903 horsepower to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Rumours are swirling that the P1 lapped the Nurburgring in less than seven minutes, which is slightly longer than the Porsche, but this hasn’t been confirmed yet.

Honorable mention: Jaguar C-X75

We can’t look at the Jaguar C-X75 without going into an extended dream state.

We can’t technically include the C-X75 in this post because you can’t buy one — production has been halted and only a few are in existence — but we think it deserves an honorable mention because if the hybrid was in production, it would be right up there with the 918, LaFerrari and P1 in terms of price, exclusivity and performance.

We did get to drive it, however, and can confirm that this impossibly beautiful car should belong in this post because it has the performance of a Jaguar with the fuel economy of a Prius. Its mix of gas and electric motors and batteries put out a combined horsepower rating just shy of 900, giving the beast a top speed north of 320 km/h.

Check back Monday for David Booth’s full review of the Porsche 918 and a boatload of shiny, new photos.